The Business of Misery
by ignorance1
Summary: Hayley and her little sister Angel live with the worst possible dad in the world.She is shunned at school because of rumors that she killed her mom, which, in her mind, are only partially true. What happens when someone from above comes down to her?
1. Chapter 1

Josh POV

"Come _on_ Josh, nothing is going to happen" Ariel exclaimed, pulling my hand, her large, white wings fluttering excitedly.

"No Ariel, we shouldn't be here" I whispered, panicking. And we really shouldn't be here. This was a private place only higher level angels were allowed to go. Ariel and I were not high level. We were the regular angels, the ones that were mostly messengers here in heaven. And I was really paranoid of getting caught by the Big Guy.

"But I want to see what the humans are doing," Ariel said, giving me her classic pout, her wavy brown hair flying gently in the slight breeze.

I rolled my eyes as I gave in. "_Fine_, but make it quick." I said as we flew quietly by the bubbling fountain.

She squealed and we landed on a soft cloud.

"Now what?" I asked.

She smirked. "Oh innocent brother, we look here, that's what," she said, pointing to a stack of documents that were neatly piled on a desk, and to the information thinger-ma-bob that I never really understood. Basically, it gave you all the information on the people on earth.

"Do you know how to work it?" I asked quietly, looking around in fear of getting caught.

Ariel, of course, had no such fear of that. "Yes, I do," she said as she pressed a button on the computer thing.

Immediately, a giant screen appeared in front of us, filled with a list of ongoing names, the names of the people on earth. I looked intently at the screen.

"Wow, there are a lot of people down there, aren't there?" I wondered aloud.

"Yup. Oh look they also have pictures!"

Ariel pressed another button and suddenly, pictures appeared next to the names. Some were of the elderly, others of gurgling babies, of toddlers and children. But the ones that interested me the most where those of my age. Teenagers.

"Can we just look at the teenagers? Then we can get out of here sooner." I whispered urgently to Ariel.

"Sure I guess, but you _have_ to promise we'll come back though," she said pleadingly.

"Fine, but hurry!"

"So _paranoid_," Ariel muttered under her breath. She clicked on another button and the list shortened, but not by much. She clicked another and this time only the teenagers living in the United States showed, then another and only the ones in California.

"So what exactly are you looking for Ariel?" I said quietly, staring at the list of names, some boys others girls, and wondered how ever I was going to get her out of here.

"Hmm, it says if I click this button, the list will be arranged from most distressed to least. I want to see those poor, unfortunate souls," she said thoughtfully.

"Well then, hurry up" I said. She did.

The list rearranged itself, from female to male. And the first female on the list was a girl named Hayley.

"Wow, she's really depressed, I wonder what happened?" Ariel's beautiful face was scrunched up in concern. No one here in Heaven was ugly. Our outer appearance reflected the state of our souls. And Ariel had one beautiful soul. That's my twin sister, concern for someone she hasn't even met.

She clicked on the name and a whole profile of the girl came up. I started reading the information too, forgetting my worries for the first time. The girl's name was Hayley Melody Lopez. That's a nice name, I thought to myself. The picture showed that the girl - Hayley - had layered, shoulder length red hair, and the greenest emerald eyes I've ever seen. I caught myself subconsciously thinking that she looked very pretty.

"Oh, look, it says that she hasn't been appointed a guardian angel. Do you think if I asked, they would appoint me? I've always wanted to be one." Ariel turned to me, her gray eyes slightly filled with longing.

I was about to respond, but a sudden noise alerted me. Someone was here. We were going to get caught!

"Come on!" I mouthed to Ariel. She swiftly turned off the thingy and began to dash to the exit. I spun around too, but in my hurry, knocked into the fountain, and fell down, the water spilling over me.

"Josh!" Ariel rushed back to help me.

"Ow, oh no!" I exclaimed as I saw the fractured pieces of the fountain strewn all over the white, cloud floor.

I heard someone clear their throat from the doorway. Reluctantly, we both looked up.

It was Michael, archangel over all the angels, standing there with his arm crossed, his golden hair falling in waves over his forehead. I immediately knew we were in trouble. _Again_.

Ariel helped me stand. My wings were soaking wet from the water. I looked into Michaels' face, hoping that we weren't in too much trouble. His face gave nothing away.

"Come with me" he said in a low voice, turned around and walked away.

Ariel and I glanced at each other, and followed. We knew where we were headed. To the Creator of Heaven.


	2. Heaven and Ariel

**AN: Hey guys! Sorry I couldn't AN on the first chapter. To be perfectly honest, I didnt even want to put this up! Well, anyway, this story is what the summary says, only that…well, ill let u figure that out for yourselves. On with the second chap!!**

Josh POV

We stood in front of the throne, heads bowed, hands clasped in front of us, not wanting to look at the face that was definitely staring at us right now. I was still sodden and a little cold. All I had on was white pants and button down shirt. I held my wings around me for warmth.

"What were you doing in the information room children?" the holy voice asked.

I looked at Ariel; my head still bowed and urged her to speak. "I wanted to know what the people down on earth were doing, sir," she said quietly.

"Not only did you trespass on the information, but you also broke the Fountain of the Angels." Michael declared. I looked up and saw that he was staring down at us in a reproachful way. Yeah, we and Michael went a long way back.

"And who exactly were you looking for, child" the voice from the throne asked Ariel.

'No one in particular Father, but we did come across a rather distressed soul, and I was wondering if, since she didn't have a guardian angel, I might be appointed to that role." Her voice got soft at the end, wringing her hands as she looked down.

"Father, I do believe punishment is the best thing right now, after all it is indeed not one of their first misdeeds. Remember the garden?" Michael said.

"Do you have a punishment in mind, Michael?" the voice asked.

"Yes I do"

"Speak then"

I didn't hear anything, and I looked up to see Michael whisper something into Gods ear. The Father nodded thoughtfully, and then addressed us again. I quickly let my head drop, focusing on my white shoes. My wings had dried now and I was getting warmer by the second, the shivers ceasing.

"This will hereby be your punishment: you will descend to earth, and bring the girl out of her depression, make her believe there is hope again." God said.

"Benjamin" Michael addressed me. "You will be her guardian angel."

My head snapped up in confusion. "What? But Ariel wanted to be…"

"You will be her guardian angel. Ariel will help you make her believe in hope again. Understand?" He said sternly.

"Yes sir" I said meekly, looking down again.

"You will live on earth until the girl finds hope again. You will live in her neighborhood, go to her school, and befriend her, live like a human. It is absolutely essential you keep your true identity hidden. You mustn't use your wings except for emergencies only. Understood?" Michael said to both of us.

"Yes sir" we answered in unison.

"Sebastian will go with you, to stage as your human guardian. I shall inform him immediately. He will meet you at the Gate. You will leave at once and may not come back until you have completed your task. Good luck." The Father told us.

We thanked him and bowed low. I chanced a peek at him and saw that his timeless eyes were twinkling for some unknown reason.

The moment we were far enough away, I turned on Ariel. "Nice going Ariel, way to go"

"I'm sorry, but don't you think it exciting to go down to earth and talk to people again?" She turned to me, her eyes alight with excitement.

"Hey there, got into trouble again didn't you guys?" a voice behind me said.

We turned, and saw Sebastian walking toward us, his white powerful wings and brown hair ruffling in the light breeze.

"Oh hey Sebastian, this was all Ariel's fault. She was being nosy." I explained as I shook hands with him. Sebastian was my older brother; we all died in a car crash, Sebastian at 22 and Ariel and I at 17.

Ariel jumped up and hugged him. "No, I _wasn't_, I was merely _exploring_."

Sebastian rolled his brownish gray eyes. He was the only one with those eyes. Ariel and I had boring clear gray eyes. "Yeah, like you were _exploring_ at the Garden of Eden?"

Eden was another thing we got in trouble for too. We accidently let our dog into the garden. Believe it or not, animals _do_ go to heaven. Just a different kind.

"Come on, it's time to go, Josh, what was the name of the person you are taking care of?"Sebastian called over his shoulder as he started to walk towards the Gate.

"Her name is Hayley Melody Lopez" Ariel chimed in.

"'Kay, we'll find her soon enough." He said as we exited through the Gate. He waved in farewell to the Keeper.

"Ok, you guys, we are going to fly down. The moment we are close enough to earth, we'll vanish and appear in the house they set up for us. Got it?" Sebastian said, crouching down, preparing for takeoff.

"Yes".

"Ready? Go!"

The three of us dived into the clouds and sped downward toward the ground. After a few seconds, Sebastian spread his wings and grabbed hold of our hands. In a flash of light we vanished and appeared in the living room of a house.

"Wow that was so cool, can we do that again?" Ariel pleaded excitedly.

"Not now, Ariel, later." Sebastian said, his white wings dissolving into him, disappearing.

I stared. "How in the world did you do that?" I said awestruck.

He looked at me skeptically. "You don't know how to hide your wings?"

I shook my head, my brown hair falling into my eyes.

He sighed heavily. "You're going to have to learn, Josh. The Creator told me that you have to go to school, and you can't have your wings showing. You have to act _Human_."

"Okay, then teach me."

He smiled. "Close your eyes."

I looked at him suspiciously.

"Just do it."

I stared at him for just a second more, then closed my eyes shut.

"You too, Ariel. Okay now concentrate, it's easy. All you have to do is will your wings to go into you. Do it with you mind."Sebastian said.

I tried and felt the weirdest sensation. It was ticklish, and then warm as my wings faded into me, the warmth spreading into my chest.

I opened my eyes and looked over my shoulder. No more wings. I looked back at Sebastian, proud of my accomplishment. He rolled his eyes at my happiness in doing something so simple.

Ariel didn't have as much success as I did. I could see that she was having trouble, her eyes clenched tight. "Ariel, you have to let them go, or it won't work." Sebastian advised. Ariel relaxed and her wings dissolved in a bluish light and disappeared. She opened her eyes, a wide smile breaking across her face. "Good job."

Ariel looked around the room. There were couches next to the walls, all facing a black box with buttons. Oh right, a T.V. There was a sliding glass door, and outside was a large yard with a gazebo, beyond it, you can see the slight shimmer of a river, surrounded by trees.

"Can we explore?" Ariel asked eagerly.

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